IU athletes read to local students on Dr. Seuss Day

[Video: Indiana University Hoosiers soccer player Trevor Swartz sits with second-graders at a local elementary school]

[Words appear: Indiana University presents]

[Words appear: Dr. Seuss Story Time with the Indiana Hoosiers]

[Teacher speaks: Second graders, say hi.]

[Children speak: Hi.]

[Trevor speaks: My name’s Trevor, and I’m on the soccer team at IU. We’re going to read some Cat in the Hat today by Dr. Seuss. Get excited. All right. Let’s go.]

[Words appear: Trevor Swartz]

[Words appear: Junior, soccer player]

[Trevor reads from book: The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play, so we sat in the house, all that cold, cold wet day.]

[Trevor reads from Green Eggs and Ham: I do so like green eggs and ham. Thank you, thank you, Sam I am. The end.]

[Video: Children and Trevor clap.]

[Child speaks: How is it in IU?]

[Trevor speaks: It’s really fun.]

[Child speaks: Is it hard to play soccer?]

[Trevor speaks: Um, yeah, I’d say it’s pretty hard at first, but if you practice a lot you get pretty good.]

[Child speaks: How’d you get into IU?]

[Trevor speaks: Um, how did I get into IU? Well, I had good grades in high school, and I played soccer, and I thought, “I’ll just come to IU,” because I liked it a lot.]

[MUSIC]

[Video: The Indiana University trident appears]

[Words appear: Indiana University]

[Words appear: Fulfilling the Promise]

[Words appear: iu.edu]

As IU men's soccer players Sean Caulfield, Andrew Gutman and Trevor Swartz walked the halls of Arlington Elementary School, they were taken back to their own elementary days. But this time, the roles were reversed -- they were there to help the students celebrate Dr. Seuss Day on March 2.

"We really understand that Bloomington is bigger than the university, so it's nice to give back to the surrounding areas, and it's always fun to work with kids," Caulfield said.

From the top, IU men's soccer players Sean Caulfield, Andrew Gutman and Trevor Swartz read to students at Arlington Elementary School in honor of Read Across America, a holiday celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday. Photos by Chaz Mottinger, IU Communications

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, the young men read multiple books by the author to second-grade classrooms at the elementary school. They were three of nearly 80 student athletes who visited 12 schools in the Monroe County Community School Corp. as well as Edgewood Primary School for National Read Across America Day. The students sat quietly and attentively and, after the first book, began chanting for more.

While Caulfield, Gutman and Swartz agreed that working with kids is one of the most fun aspects of their IU career, Gutman said he has learned from similar experiences as well.

"It has made me more mature, and it's made me realize that being a student athlete is more than just playing a sport," he said, "You're a role model to young kids, and IU has really taught me that."